DENVER (AP) — A day after Tom Brady’s dud of a debut for Tampa Bay, Stephen Gostkowski failed to put all that Patriots pedigree to work in his first game with the Tennessee Titans.
Until the very end.
Unlike Brady, who lost his first game in a uniform other than New England’s, Gostkowski prevailed Monday night when he nailed a 25-yard field goal with 17 seconds left, sending the Titans past the Denver Broncos 16-14 after he missed four kicks for the first time in his career.
“I really wanted to come out and make a strong first impression,” Gostkowski said. “I did the exact opposite.”
Gostkowski missed a kick in each quarter, including a blocked field goal and an errant extra point.
It didn’t matter in the end.
“We’re happy to get a win,” Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “Any win in the NFL is a good win. I’ll take it. They don’t put any asterisks on it in the win column.”
Titans coach and ex-teammate Mike Vrabel said he had no qualms about sending Gostkowski out for another try,
“Nope, and they did, obviously, because they weren’t using their timeouts and they were banking on him missing,” Vrabel said. “We’ve all got to do our job. And again, it’s not on just one player. We’ll get this stuff fixed. We’ve got a lot of faith in our players. Excited to get out of here with a win. This is a tough place to play.”
Gostkowski missed every way you can think of: wide left, wide right, a block and a shanked extra point that loomed large until he atoned for his awful night in the final seconds.
“You can’t expect him to miss them all,” said Broncos defensive lineman Jurrell Casey, who was traded from Tennessee in the offseason.
Gostkowski never missed three field goals in a game during his 14 seasons in New England, where he won three Super Bowl rings, made four Pro Bowls and left this offseason as the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer.
On Thursday he joined the Titans, who had the worst field goal unit in the NFL last year when their first four kickers combined to connect on only 44.4% of field goals (8 for 18).
The last Titans/Oilers kicker to miss three field goals and an extra point in a game was Skip Butler against the Jets in the 1977 season opener.
Gostkowski appreciated the support.
